Protect 5

APRIL 2010

THIS MONTH IN PROTECT

Inside This Issue . . .

A new FTC report says that identity theft is now the largest category of complaints it receives. Ahead, even, of perennial consumer complaints about unethical debt collectors, sweepstakes scams and false ad claims.

For regular readers of PROTECT, the FTC findings are no surprise. You know that more than 10 million Americans are victimized each year, and that schemes to hijack your identity are many and varied. The stories in this monthʼs edition are no exception. They run the gamut from travel scams to tax frauds, from email rip offs to junk mail marauders, from fake credit cards to stolen birth certificates.

TARGETING THE

ID THEFT IS FTC COMPLAINT #1

PROTECT is brought to you by the people who operate I.D. SHIELD 360, a leading service that helps shield you from the criminals determined to steal your identity. So continue to look for this newsletter every month. Youʼll find useful and authoritative ideas and information to protect your most important possession – your identity.

TAXPAYER

THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE CRISIS

‘PLEASE ROB ME’ INVITES WEBSITE AVOIDING

TWITTER TEMPTATIONS TOURISTS IN TROUBLE

BUSTING CREDIT REPORT MYTHS

TRAVEL AND TOURIST TRAPS “walking,” your best bet is to refuse the switch and insist on staying where you want to be. They usually

have a few rooms in reserve for emergencies. Alternatively, demand compensation for being downgraded.

Donʼt Be Distracted. This tactic involves one person

distracting you while another picks your pocket. Classics

The prime travel and tourist season is just beginning to heat up. People on vacation are more relaxed than usual, out of their normal routine and comfort zone, sometimes disoriented and confused. This makes them especially vulnerable to fraud and deceit.

Combine that with more desperate people during a worldwide economic slowdown, and you have a serious problem. Here are several practices to watch out for when youʼre on the road or overseas, according to the experts.

Welcome Deals. At the airport or train station or bus

station, someone offers you a great deal on a hotel or

transportation. Chances are youʼre being led into a trap

or the services will be substandard. Plan ahead with a room and transportation booked, for the first night at least.

Fake Cabs. Hailing a taxi on the street is risky. Being

charged inflated fares pales next to other possibilities

such as kidnapping, assault or robbery. Many travelers choose to avoid taxis altogether. If you plan to take a

cab, make sure it is a legal, licensed, and has functioning door handles. Educate yourself about rates in advance.

Getting The Walk Around. This travel scam involves checking into your hotel, only to discover your room

is actually in another less-nice building nearby. Called

include being sprayed with condiments, having coins

scattered at their feet, and even having babies tossed to them. Fight the instinct. Also, consider a money pouch beneath your clothes.

Food Charges. Tourists are often overcharged, but in some places the bills are so high that it is an outright

scam. Ask the price before you order and pay upfront if necessary. Reputable bars and restaurants have a menu that lists their prices. A good understanding of local currency is critical.

Bogus Travel Guides. At a popular tourist venue, a

native offers to show you around for a fee, sometimes in a uniform. Either you get a phony tour. Or you are

told to wait in a particular spot for the rest of the group, and no one shows up. Stick to the official paid tours listed in guidelines and trustworthy travel websites.

Fake Car Attendants. Particularly effective in major

cities where parking is near impossible, this trick involves a “parking attendant” approaching you and handing

out an official looking ticket. You pay the fee, and later discover that youʼre parked illegally or you owe the

real lot owner the real fee. Check out authorized parking places ahead of time.

Ask For The Badge. Be suspicious if you are pulled over by a cop who needs to see your credit or debit cards or cash and jewelry. Know what a real police

uniform looks like in a city that is foreign to you. Also, you are entitled to ask to see the officerʼs badge.

TARGETING THE

TAXPAYERS

Death and taxes, philosophers and comedians tell us, are the two certainties. Now add a third: fraudsters trying to scam you during tax season. The IRS and the experts say that the key to protecting yourself is to keep careful track of your documents, do not get fooled by con artists pretending to be IRS agents, and monitor your income and credit reports on a regular basis. Here are some thoughts on the problem: Monitor your mail especially carefully at this time. Many Americans are receiving W-2's and official forms that contain sensitive financial information, including income details, Social Security numbers and bank account numbers.

Keep a lookout for the key documents; missing or delayed documents may suggest trouble.

Keep documents safe, secure and private.

Once the critical documents arrive, keep them protected. They are loaded with the kinds of data identity thieves feast on.

Beware of people trying to impersonate the IRS. This usually takes the form of emails, tweets

or similar internet approaches, though phones and faxes have are also used. Remember, the IRS does not send unsolicited emails to taxpayers so do not respond to them. Further, the IRS does not discuss tax account information with taxpayers via e-mail or use e-mail to solicit sensitive financial and personal information from taxpayers. And the Department does not request financial account security information, such as PIN numbers, from taxpayers. So, again, do not respond.

Check your W-2 for discrepancies. People can and will steal your Social Security number and use it to get a job. So check your annual income statement from the government. Make sure no one else has reported income under your number, a sure sign of theft as well as a possible duplicate filing to grab your tax refund.

Don始t be shy. If you suspect you have been victim of a fraud, immediately contact the IRS. They now have a toll-free number to assist identity theft victims. They will mark affected accounts to resolve identity theft issues more quickly. The phone number for the IRS Identity Protection is 1-800-908-4490.

Plan better for next year. Tax season is a good time to take stock of your tax preparation practices.

Review your annual credit reports or make sure you have a reliable identity protection service in place. Start preparing for a more orderly and safe process next year by creating a file to organize receipts, official forms and documents on an ongoing basis for peace-of-mind and easy access to reference your important information in the future.

WATCH A VIDEO ON IRS-RELATED EMAIL SCAMS

JUNK MAIL JAMS AND SCAMS

Long before the technological marvels that have allowed remote identity theft via internet, email or ATM, there was “snail mail,” the kind printed on paper and delivered in envelopes to a mail box. Junk mail, and credit card offers in particular, have always been inviting targets for identity thieves, and continue so today. So, too, are credit card bills and statements, and bank information. Their low-tech technique: steal the mail directly from your mailbox.

Once the deed is done, these mailbox

The second method is “Account

“Application Fraud,” where criminals

they may be able to take over opera-

thieves generally exploit their booty in one of two ways. One method is combine a credit card offer with

a utility bill or bank statement to

piece together a complete credit

card application. They then set up a

forwarding address in which the bills and information flow to them.

Takeover.” If they have stolen the

right mix of key personal information, tion of your existing account. In this situation, they will actually pretend

to be you, making transactions and purchases as they see fit. Again, they instruct the bank or credit

card company to change you home

address in the account and have everything

Service at Direct Marketing Association,

home with your mail and mailbox.

address, zip code and request to “activate

sent where you cannot see it. How to avoid these problems? The solution begins at

Reduce Credit Card Offers

The major credit agencies all sell credit

PO Box 643, Carmel, NY 15012-0643.

Be sure to include your full name, current the preference service.” This stops most unwanted junk mail for up to five years.

information and lists. Simply contact the

Stop First Class Mail Offers

out of these mailing lists. Your request must

cross out the address and bar code, circle

three of the major credit bureaus, Equifax, Trans Union, Experian and request to opt

be granted as required by law. The phone number is 1.888.5OptOut.

Sometimes credit card offers come via first

class mail to garner attention. Here you can the first class postage and write “Refused,

Return To Sender.” Drop in any mailbox, the

Post Office does return first class mail to the point of origination.

Secure Your Mailbox

This is the most direct method for stopping mail theft. Buy a mailbox that is difficult

to break into; this may simply mean a box made of heavy duty material or simply

opting for a lock. Get to know your neighborhood delivery schedule and donʼt let mail

sit too long. Make nice to your mail carrier

Minimize Bulk Mail

Your local post office will dispose of bulk

so he or she becomes an extra pair of eyes for your protection.

mail that cannot be delivered so “return

TIPS ON STOPPING DELIVERY OF UNWANTED PAPER MAIL AND CATALOGS

and drop it in any the mailbox. Alternatively,

TIPS ON BUYING SECURE MAILBOXES

to sender” does not work. Simply write

“address correction requested,” circle it, send a postcard to the Mail Preference

WEBSITE SAYS

PLEASE ROB ME

At first it seems like a joke.

But PleaseRobMe, the website, is deadly serious. For those of you who are going out or away, and cannot wait to share the news with the immediate world, it is a wake up call.

Launched by the new concept and idea factory Forthehack, the site is ingenious yet simple: it repeats updates on Twitter, Foursquare and other site of people who are telling the world where they are and, concomitantly, that they are not home. (Iʼm at such-and-such bar for the evening or I am on vacation in the Bahamas.) The point is to raise awareness of the risks of posting these kinds of updates especially in light of the increasingly location-based applications found on the internet.

The organizersʼ own words say it best: “The danger is publicly telling people where you are. This is because it leaves one place you're definitely not . . . home . . . The goal

of this website is to raise some awareness on this issue and have people think about how they use services like Foursquare, Brightkite, Google Buzz etc. Because all this site is, is a dressed up Twitter search page.

Everybody can get this information.

To drive the point home, Please Rob Me's homepage shows a graphic of a scruffy-looking burglar. Below that, it indicates that the site is “listing all those empty homes out there.” The front page is a scrolling list of everyone who has just “left home” and there are dozens of new entries hit every minute. You can filter through the endless results by city or username.

“Our intention is not, and never has been, to have people burglarized,” declare the developers. “Don't get us wrong, we love the whole locationaware thing. The information is very interesting and can be used to create some pretty awesome applications.

However, the way in which people are stimulated to participate in sharing this information, is less awesome.”

The site has drawn some criticism for privacy concerns, but mostly it is incredibly popular. Forthehack is seeking to affiliate with a foundation or organization to help spread the message about the risks of irresponsible use of social media.

CLICK HERE TO SEE WHAT ALL THE EXCITEMENT IS ABOUT

AVOIDING THE

TWITTER TEMPTATIONS

Twitter is growing exponentially, with estimates of membership now between 40 and 50 million. Not surprisingly, scammers go where the people are, and there are a number of popular Twitter scams making their way through the system.

Perhaps the most frequent is Twitter phishing, which has many tactics but one overarching strategy: getting you to click on a link that takes you to a Twitter sign in page where you give them your password or other information.

Anyone following the link will be directed to a fake twitter logon page or other similar data gathering page. With enough data, any scammer can fill in the rest.

There have been many instances of scammers inviting tweeps to follow a link with a phrase such as “Who posted that pic of you on Twitter!” Another invites followers to make up funny user names that incorporate various common security questions. Yet another promises that “you just won a free cellphone,” leading you to a link asking for your cell number and basic details. And one more: you tweet that you like a product, someone offer it to you at a special discounted price if you email him your credit card information or bank account number.

Other hot scams, less about stealing your information than taking your money, are: the “work at home offers,” where you sign up and pay a fee and never actually get the work; the “thousands of instant, targeted followers” which you pay for but never get; and the one made popular on Facebook where some “friend” tweets that they lost their wallet and need money wired to them immediately.

HERE ARE SEVERAL EXPERT TIPS FOR AVOIDING TWITTER TEMPTATIONS:

1. Check the address. Before entering your Twitter password on any sign-on page, check that the address bar shows http://twitter.com/. Beware of anything that uses another word on either side of "twitter."

2. Trust but verify. Be wary about clicking on links, even ones that appear to come from people you know. Get to know those you are newly following before trusting any of their links.

3. Protect your password. Change your password frequently, and immediately if you think your account may have been compromised.

4. Keep it to yourself. Never give away confidential information about yourself in a tweet, even if it all seems perfectly innocent.

5. Donʼt be a follower. Don't automatically follow people who follow you. Visit their profile page and beware of anyone whose tweets consist mainly of links, or who appears to be following lots of people but has hardly posted any messages.

6. Update your security software. Make sure your Internet security software is up to date so that, if you do click on a bad link, it will alert you if it takes you to a malware site.

7. Check out the message services. Programs that sign on to Twitter for you and fetch your messages can increase your security but they need your password. Make sure they are legitimate; popular honest ones are TweetDeck and Twhirl.

8. Get real. Do not believe any message that says you won something, or promise riches working from home, or services that claim they'll get you more followers.

MYTHS ABOUT

CREDIT REPORT SERIES #5

YOUR CREDIT SCORE

PROTECT is publishing a series on understanding your credit report for a simple reason: knowing what is in these reports is vital to your economic health and safety. You need a clean report to apply for a mortgage on a house, to buy a car, or to finance any big ticket item.

In the first four installments, we looked at what is in the report, how your credit score is calculated, how to improve your credit score, and how to fix mistakes.

Today, the focus is on the myths and legends that have grown up around the credit score. These are usually the result of misinformation and bad advice.

Here are some mythbusting facts:

MYTH 1 You only have one credit score.

The three major credit bureaus use the same basic information, but may have differences in the way they use or calculate some of the information. You need to check all three on a regular basis.

MYTH 2 Age, income, race and gender count. Nonsense. None of this information has any bearing on your score. The score measures your payment of credit cards and other debts.

MYTH 3 A higher salary will boost your score. Earning more money, winning the lottery or inheriting a fortune, does not matter.

See answer to Myth 2.

MYTH 4 Checking your own credit lowers your score. No. You can check your own score as many times as you want through the three bureaus without effecting your score.

MYTH 5 Shopping for a loan hurts your score. When you apply for a loan or get pre-approved the creditor checks your credit report, which

shows up as an inquiry to your credit. As long as the same kind of inquiries, e.g., car loan or mortgage, are made within 14 days of each other, they count as one inquiry.

MYTH 6 Credit card offers damage your score. Credit card solicitations don't affect your score. And if you take up the offers, there is no magic number for how many credit cards are too many. But it helps to keep the ratio of credit used to credit available at a low level.

MYTH 7 When you get married the credit scores are married, too. Accounts opened singly are still judged separately. When you open accounts though, that information will be reflected on each of your credit reports, for better or for worse. Same with divorce; nothing happens automatically so you must sever the accounts one-by-one.

MYTH 8 Credit scores are locked in for six months. No, again. It is a dynamic process and your FICO score changes as soon as data on your credit card changes.

CNBC LOOKS AT THE 3 TOP CREDIT SCORE MYTHS

THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE CRISIS As amazing as this may seem, 40 percent of all identity theft cases involving birth certificates in the U.S. originate from Puerto Rico. This explains a new law enacted by the Puerto Rican legislature to combat identity theft which invalidates all Puerto Rican birth certificates issued before July 1, 2010. All Puerto Ricans born on the island — that includes more than a million people now living in the U.S. — must arrange to get new certificates.

What prompted the new law were several raids which broke up a criminal ring that had stolen thousands of birth certificates from several different schools in Puerto Rico. The crisis arises, in part, from an ancient practice on the island of retaining

and archiving original birth certificates in public places such as schools and offices, leaving millions of them without

meaningful protection. Under the new law the retention and archiving of birth certificates is now prohibited.

Puerto Rican birth certificates are valuable because they can be a ticket to a U.S. passport. Within the states, they can be used to get other official documents such as drivers licenses.

“As the need for birth certificates with Hispanic-sounding

names grew, the black market value… has gone into the $5,000 to $10,000 range,” commented Puerto Rico Secretary of State Kenneth McClintock-Hernandez.

TRUE STORIES COURTING DISASTER

Federal prosecutors have a Seattle WA Municipal Court employee in custody, charged with bank fraud and identity theft.

Ex-customer service rep Ashley Peterson is accused of passing confidential customer information to a pair of accomplices who then made fake credit cards under the assumed names. Peterson, stopped in a stolen car, had a number of "profiles" bearing Seattle Municipal Court customers' names and credit-card numbers. Speaking with investigators, Peterson allegedly admitted to stealing "a large number" of credit-card numbers from municipal court customers and selling them.

SEEKING SALVATION

Edward Curry of Odessa TX is headed to federal prison for fraud and identity theft.

The 60-year-old Curry was staying at the Salvation Army. While he was there, he stole cards with personal information on them then used the information to apply for credit cards. Curry also photocopied checks from donors to the Salvation Army while working at the West Texas Food Bank. He used the accounts and routing numbers to pay those credit card bills online. Curry faces 80 years in prison.

KANSAS CITY TWISTER

A veteran Kansas City MO scam artist pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday after she led federal agents on a fruitless search for a government employee who she claimed was an identity thief. In fact, Margie P. Shephard was trying to get a reduced sentence for her own conviction for identity theft. Shephard has a long criminal history, with seven felony forgery convictions, during which she opened dozens of bogus checking accounts and wrote checks to herself totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars. In the current case against her, she was accused of manufacturing counterfeit payroll in the names of identity theft victims and cashing them herself.

SAFE ISN始T SAFE Someone walked out with a safe from a Goodwill location in Grand Rapids MI. Instead of having money in it, it had the names, addresses, dates of birth and Social Security numbers of thousands of individuals going back 20 years. The organization has sent out letters warning victims to start monitoring their bank statements and credit cards very carefully.

For some reason, Goodwill officials said they believed the information was more secure in a storefront than its corporate headquarters.

CITY RECORD A massive identity theft ring in Albuquerque NM has unraveled. Four suspects, Adrian Gallegos, Daniele Pedrol, Charles Taylor and Lauran Wellborn, are allegedly part of the city始s largest identity theft ring ever.

Investigators say ring members would steal documents and information from people, then print fake checks and credit cards.

Deputies believe more than 20 people were involved in the operation. Among those scammed: Albertsons grocery stores, Bank of the West locations, and Wal-Mart stores, just to name a few.

CHECK PLEASE A Fresno CA man has been convicted of masterminding a scheme in which credit-card information was stolen from more than 100 unsuspecting restaurant patrons. Brett Ronald Matteson Jr., 38, asked the judge to send him to a drug-treatment program, but the judge declined to do so. Prosecutors had accused Matteson of making fake identification cards for underage people so they could purchase alcohol and get into bars.

He also recruited two people who worked in restaurants and paid them to illegally scan customers始 credit-card information into a hand-held device. Matteson then used that information to obtain credit cards and gift cards.

MAKING PAYROLL

A three year, multi-agency investigation has ended with an Elmira NY man behind bars on multiple counts of identity theft and forgery. Police say 56 year old Daniel Bombarger opened credit card and accounts worth $50,000 under people's names. He's also charged with forging checks and stealing $70,000 in potential investments. More charges are pending: Bombarger is the former owner of AAPEX Systems payroll services and he admitted to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in payroll withholding taxes.